Waterfowlers may be passionate-even obsessive-about their sport, but at least they don't take themselves too seriously. That's because duck and goose hunting is so often a humbling experience. In that respect, these 20 stories by Doug Larson are like the classic wildfowl tales of, say, Gordon MacQuarrie-that is, they celebrate the sport of waterfowling while tickling the funny bone. But while Larson is in many ways a traditionalist when it comes to waterfowling-and storytelling-his voice is refreshingly new. Larson's subject, in fact, is the modern hunter's struggle to come to terms with the past while living fully in the present. For instance, while he expresses a love for the hardy duck chasers in canvas coats who humped dozens of cork decoys through mud and mire to secret blinds, he also admits "adapting" to the comforts and conveniences of four-wheel ATVs, portable blind heaters, hollow-body plastic decoys, and polyester "fleece" parkas. On the other hand, he takes pokes at the modern trend to overcomplicate the sport. "Whatever happened to throwing rocks?" he asks in a chapter on motion decoys. Though the book finds humor in the "small" moments associated with duck and goose hunting, it occasionally delivers a real zinger that will bring tears to the reader's eyes, as in the hilarious chapter titled "Concrete," in which Larsen discovers what can happen when a son takes his non-hunting dad waterfowling for the first time.

Don't Shoot the Decoys: Original Stories of Waterfowling Obsession

Science & Math

Larsen, Doug

Nature & Ecology

Ducks Unlimited, Inc.

The story of Panther, the small Labrador retriever with the big heart, leads off this exciting collection of tales devoted exclusively to hunting retrievers. A diminutive pheasant hunting dog from the Dakotas, Panther rose from obscurity during the late 1940s and early 1950s to become the most consistent winner in field-trial history. His 24 wins and 172 championship points rank him as the best field-trialer of his time. Only one thing eluded him: A national championship. Seven times, Panther's wins qualified him to run in the nationals, where he was known as the dog to beat. And seven times he fell just short of the national title-twice on technicalities that seemed designed to keep the "outlaw dog from the Wild West" from attaining his rightful prize. Though Panther never placed first in the nationals, he did eventually earn first place in his irascible owner's heart. And so it is with the other retrievers in this anthology. Each is first in his master's heart, and each inspires a unique story about the special bonds that form between man and dog when engaged in the common pursuit of hunting waterfowl and upland game birds.

Panther: And Other Stories of Great Hunting Retrievers: Original Stories About the Special Bonds Between Man and Dog

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Bourne, Wade

Madson, John

Smith, Sandy

Thomas, E. Donnall

Pets & Animal Care

In this follow up to his best-selling book Don't Shoot the Decoys, author Doug Larsen offers more humorous observations on the sport of waterfowling. The book begins with a hilarious "Open Letter to the Duck Gods," in which Larsen wonders aloud about what he has done to deserve the wrath of the duck hunting deities, which have obviously conspired against him to ruin his hunting season, his physical and mental health, and his family life. "Three weeks into the season," he writes, "with only two weeks left to go. Everything seems to be going against me, and I wouldn't know a limit of ducks if I tripped over one." From there Larsen lets his duck hunting fancy take flights that are sure to tickle the funny bones of waterfowlers everywhere. These include ruminations on why there aren't any duck hunting movies (in the story "Black Duck Down"), a duck hunt with two sharp-shooting and keen-witted little old ladies in the Louisiana bayou (in "A Duck for Gumbo"), a chapter devoted to, of all things, "Coot Tactics," and seventeen other new and original stories of "waterfowling obsession." Indeed, what was said when Larsen published his first book is even more apt with the publication of his second: "If Gordon MacQuarrie is the voice of the old duck hunters, then Doug Larsen is the voice of the new."

Duck Gods Must Be Crazy: More Stories Of Waterfowling Obsession

Sports & Outdoors

Hunting & Fishing

Globe Pequot

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Larsen, Doug. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Larsen, Doug